I'd Come for You
by Raehound
Summary: Ling Yao accomplished what he set out to do and, after procuring the Philosophers Stone, he's set on the path to become the next Emperor of Xing. But not long after returning, his most trusted guard, his shadow Lan Fan, disappears. It doesn't take long for him to discover who's behind her disappearance, but that is only the beginnings of his troubles. He knows all too well what her
1. Chapter 1

She should have seen this coming really. She'd known for ages that the whole of the Palace had been keeping a weary eye on them. Since they were children in fact. Yet some small part of her always told her that nothing would come of it. Ling wouldn't let anything come of it.

...well now she was seeing just how wrong her assumption had been. Only a week after the Promised Day...she was taken, and she was now separated from the soon to be Emperors side. She never even saw it coming really. Either because she truly had become so naive over the years, or because she let her guard down after everything that happened. Either way...she was far from the Palace now.  
She still wasn't entirely sure what her predicament really was, but she knew she'd find out soon. What she did know was wherever she was now had a heavy stench of decay and general non cleanliness.

She was alone in a dark stone-faced cell. The walls were slick with the rain water that dripped in from an apparent hole somewhere in the roof. Normally she would take advantage of such a flaw, knowing the structure would be weak at that point. But with nothing but her mere hands, or hand in this case as her automail was gone, there was nothing she could do about it.  
She shivered quietly, pulling into herself. All she wore was a hole ridden...well she may as well call it a sack really. It had the same texture and really looked nothing like actual clothing.

Judging by that, she hazarded a guess she was being sold into the slave trade. Though that would be the least of her worries. She knew of all the different 'trades' that ran in the underground of this country. Trades the Emperor seemed fit to turn a blind eye too.  
She knew he always would. That's where he got a lot of the palace servants from after all. Slaves don't have to be paid.

She settled her arm on her drawn up knees and buried her face in there. She knew this was pretty much the end of the road for her. If she really was on the Black Market, she could really end up anywhere in the world. And women sold fast on the market. And she didn't have to have a huge imagination to know why. She knew the fate that would soon befall her if she didn't get away.  
But she was well guarded. They knew damn well what she was capable of, and judging by how she was handled on the way here, she could tell the men holding her were Ex-military. Of course that'd be the case. They'd be the only ones with even a chance of keeping her in line. And so far they did it well. All her limbs were in metal cuffs, chained to the wall. Even her neck had a heavy metal collar around it. The chains had a short run to them, not really giving her much in the way of movement. She couldn't even reach the center of the room and she could barely reach the metal bucket that was meant to be her toilet. They never even saw fit to clean the damn thing.

Tears slowly slipped down her face as she slowly began to accept her fate. This wasn't like her. She'd always try to find some way out of a situation even if she had no weapons or anything else at her disposal. But the passed few months brought a change in her. She'd always been at Ling's side as far back as she could remember. And even when she was just kitchen staff, Ling would see fit to 'alleviate' her of her duties and drag her along for whatever scheme his mind could come up with. And she had no doubt when her grandfather brought her in for guard training, that Ling was actually the one to suggest it.  
She spent years at his side. Quietly watching his back. Killing anyone who dared tried to touch him. But it had for the most part been a quiet existence in the shadows...not the direct fighting at his side she'd been doing for the last few months. She'd gotten too close to him. Allowing feelings she easily quelled, to win out at last.  
And because of all that...she actually felt hopeless. All her training was being squashed by the overwhelming feelings of her heart. She lost all hold on herself.  
So here she was...alone and unsure exactly where she was, crying into her arms. Dreading the future that awaited her.

After what seemed like ages, Lan Fan could hear footsteps resounding along the concrete floors. She waiting quietly, holding her breath as she waited to see who's cell the person would stop in front of.  
Of course, it would be hers. She swore under her breath as she continued to wait, eyes locked coldly on the cell door.  
Soon there was a clanging of keys, the click of the lock, and the door opened with a loud screech.

She couldn't help but squint her eyes as the light from the hall poured in, stinging at her.  
For a long moment nothing happened. The person just stood there, silhouetted by the light behind. Then slowly, the form came forward. A man, as she supposed.  
Still nothing was said as he walked forward, kneeling in front of her. She almost grimaced as the stench hit her nose. Blood, sweat, and what was that? Maybe a bit of opium permeating from the man.  
She ended up scrunching her nose in spite of herself. The man just grinned, showing the multiple gaps he had from missing teeth. And the stench that came just from that made her think he ate from a garbage heap. His yellowing teeth driving home that this man lacked any sort of hygiene skills.

Lan Fan studied him for a moment as he continued to grin. Well, he was Xingese, so she was probably still in Xing somewhere. Good to know.  
That's about as far as she got in her perusing before he reached forward and wrapped his hand around her throat, slamming her head back against the wall. She winced and swore to herself. With her instincts and chi reading she should have seen that coming. Not like she could do much about it, but still.

He continued to grin as he held her in place, turning her head from side to side, inspecting her.

"You're probably one of the prettiest ones we had in a while. I'd keep you myself if the boss would let me." He grinned a bit more, leaning forward and licking the side of her face from chin to just below her eye.

She tried her best at this point to pull away but he slammed her head against the wall again.

"No no. Bad girl. Don't know what freedoms you had before but you ain't got em' here. So learn some damn manners."

The rage rising in her at this moment was something new. All her life she bowed down to everyone, spoke only when spoken too. Never losing control and speaking back. Always sticking to the shadows. Far enough away to not be seen, yet close enough to strike out and kill anyone who tried to harm Ling before they even got close enough to breathe on him.  
Always subservient and loyal. Never striking out on her own.  
That all changed with the events in Amestris. For the first time ever, she was constantly separated from Ling. Even having to leave him to Greed's charge. (not that any of them had a choice in that matter)She had hated it, but at the same time it afforded them some time to prepare. But it stung. It stung, and it burned, and everything that happened after that just piled on. Building the flames within her to the heights of a massive funeral pyre.

For the first time ever...she felt true and utter rage. Something she never afforded herself before because it blinded her. It's what got her caught to begin with the first time she met Ed and fought with him.  
But it grew, and her Grandfathers death struck the final match inside. This new part of her did not seem to want to be extinguished. It just grew more and more. And this vile idiot was only fueling the flames further.  
Within seconds, before the man had any time to react, she snapped her head to the side and clamped down on three of his fingers.

The metallic taste crept through her mouth, but she continued to bite down, ignoring the blood filling her mouth. His yells made her flinch slightly as he was quite close to her ear.

He lashed out and smacked her with his free hand, sending her crashing to the floor and causing her to tear her teeth across his fingers as she did so. He yelled again, furious.

"BITCH!" He raised his foot to stomp down on her but a voice from behind stilled him.

"That's enough Niu."

His foot paused just above her head, hovering there for a moment before he pulled it back. "Bitch bit me!"

"You should know better than to get too close to the prisoners. It's your own damn fault." His eyes were narrow slits as he approached, eying his companion up. Wisely the other, Niu as he was called, stepped to the side. But this did nothing to prevent the punch that connected with the side of his head.

Niu, obviously not being prepared for the blow, was flung backwards into the wall. He leaned against it for a moment before crumpling to the floor in a heap, holding the side of his head and looking up at his companion.

"How many times do I have to tell you!? Don't ruin the merchandise!" The other yelled, and for good measure, kicked Niu in the ribs. "Now, go back to your patrols! And unless there's a good reason, do not enter the cells!"

Niu let out the least manliness squeal possible, before scrambling from the cell, leaving the two of them alone.

Lan Fan looked up at this new character from the corner of her eye. If he had been anyone else she might have thanked him but, he was obviously the one running this place.  
He just stood there, seemingly trying to calm himself. Breathing deep, he shook his head slightly, causing his ponytail to flutter back and forth a bit. His eyes, despite being dark, gave off an ice cold expression and a long deep scar ran from the top of his right eye to just below his bottom lip. He was definitely not a man to be trifled with.

Finally he looked down at her, running his eyes over her. She couldn't tell if he was just assessing her injuries or doing something more vile. But he seemed satisfied with the results, whatever they were, and bent down and hoisted her back to a sitting position.

"I would advise you not to do that again. You're not in the Palace anymore. Your...tendencies, will not be tolerated."

Lan Fan just glared up at him, that rage sitting at the pit of her stomach, slowly making it's way back up again.

"Being a guard is all you know isn't it?" He continued. "Well, there's use for that I suppose. If someone wants it. But not many girls here get turned into female ring fighters. You'll be expected to do...other things. They won't be kind if you try this on them. You'll get worse then Niu gave you."

He turned away from her now, heading back for the door. But he glanced back one more time, a sardonic grin plastered to his face. "The best part of this is, knowing how much that weak Prince of yours...I mean soon to be Emperor, must be blaming himself for all this." Then he stepped out and slammed the door, locking it again.

And how right he had been. Ling had hardly been able to sleep once he got news she was escorted from the Palace. He knew very well what that meant and why it was done. He'd already been to see his father to see if he could turn the order. But to his surprise, he hadn't been the one who gave it. He should have known that. His father being on his death bed meant power turned to a regent. Or to put it more accurately, the Empress. Unless the council had overstepped their power, it was a good bet his mother had ordered her removal. It made a lot of sense this way really. For one, she never liked Lan Fan. Whenever she caught them playing together, she would send him to his room and later in the day he'd see a bruised Lan Fan in the halls. He could never keep his eyes on her in these instances because he knew he helped to cause that. He knew if he just ignored her, put her out of his life, she'd be safe. But he was never able to do that. It hurt so bad when he tried and he could see the same effects on her. They were meant to be friends, and she obviously thought the beatings were worth it. But to him it wasn't. He hated seeing her hurt. And that's when the idea entered his head. He asked Fu to train her, and he begged his father to let it be so.

At the time they were dealing with some internal conflicts so his father had no time for something so trivial, so he authorized it. His mother, he saw, was far from happy with it.  
And now, after all this time, he understood the real reason why. He was so blind to things in those days. He had set his mind to gaining the throne and nothing else.

When he turned fifteen, he had made his mind up to go to Amestris and search for the Philosophers Stone. But it was also the age in which young Princes' go through their 'training'. Bedroom practice to put it lightly. To insure the act is done properly to produce many children. Not only was he too busy to care, he just outright didn't care. Another thing he had made his mind up on long ago was he would have no harem. Just one wife and the marriage had to be of love.

When he thought about it a bit, he realized even if he hadn't been so busy, the thought of looking for someone never really crossed his mind. But after the time he spent with Ed, he saw some things that struck him. Only he didn't think about it till now. Ed had a mission as well he centered on. He cared about nothing else but nearly went insane protecting Winry whenever she came in the line of fire.  
And then he thought about what he did. Risking Bradley, Wrath, killing him to get Lan Fan to safety. Putting everything he was reaching for aside to protect her. His friend from childhood. He had been doing the same thing as Ed...and that's when it struck him. Something he should have known all along. Something his mother knew long before. He loved her. And that's the reason she was gone now. It couldn't be allowed. And as a further blow, a deliberate blow, she sent her to human traffickers. To drive a point home and to defile her spirit and body.

He took a deep breath and loosened the grip of his tightened fist from his robes. No wonder Greed took to him so easily. He was too damn greedy, even if he always said it was a good greed. Because truth be told, it wasn't always a good greed. He knew what could happen to Lan Fan from the start. But he didn't want her to leave his side, so he ignored it. He put her in the position she was now in. He had to right this. He had to bring her home. But first...he had to find her.

He covered his face with his hand, taking in a shaky breath. It wouldn't be so easy to get away from the Palace this time. There were always eyes on him now. Either to continue the course of trying to assassinate him, or to protect him. How would he be able to find her? He needed to get information. Normally he could dig in the regional records but, none of the Emperors really cared to center on human trafficking or any kind of human injustice for that matter. So there'd be no reports on locations or arrests or anything. His best option would be to head to the slums and talk to underground traffickers. But again, getting out of the Palace. Lan Fan and Fu may have hated when he ran off, fearing for his safety. But they didn't really stop him either. They'd follow to protect him, Fu throwing protests at him, Lan Fan sometimes almost sounding like she was crying under her mask as she pleaded for him to be more careful.  
He really did cause them trouble didn't he?  
And now with Fu gone, he was responsible for Lan Fan.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ling snuck out of the Palace later that night. He decided a little sleeping powder blown at the guards would more than suffice. Sure they'd think an attack was on when they found them, but it wouldn't take long for them to find he was gone. He'd hear it from his mother and the officials in the morning but, he didn't care. He was going to find Lan Fan and bring her back. He had to.

Silently he lowered himself from the wall that surrounded the Palace, pulling the hood up over his head as he continued into the dark streets. While he used one hand to keep the hood tighter around his face, the other groped around to make sure his blades were secure where he placed them. He had no one to watch his back now, one slip up and he was finished.

He kept to the shadows, trying to stay hidden yet trying to not look too conspicuous at the same time. But he had a feeling that wouldn't be an issue. He had waited till well after midnight before striking out. Any of the people on the streets were drunk or on their way to do so.  
Problem was, to find who he was looking for at this time of night, he needed to hit the bars. Not the safest place for a Prince nevertheless a soon to be Emperor. The other problem was figuring out which of the many bars the group he was looking for drank at. And one doesn't just 'ask around' either. Anyone looking for guilds like this are usually given passwords by trusted go betweens if they deem them fit as trustworthy.

He hazarded a guess the different guilds would drink close to their Headquarters, finding it easier to drag their drunk asses home quicker. But he wasn't even sure where the guilds hid out. The one he was looking for used a Roc as their emblem. So he thought to look for an area where there may be depictions of the Roc. And somehow, he was lucky enough to stumble on some. The damn bar was even named The Regal Roc. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad omen.  
Regardless, he made one last check on his blades, before making his way inside.

The room inside was a moderate size and had two floors to it. Ornate banisters running along the length of the upper level. The smells of the bar were a mixture of various forms of alcohol,tea, cigarette smoke and a hint of opium. For a moment he slipped his arm over his mouth and nose, worried about a contact buzz or something from the opium that hung in the air.  
He dropped it after a moment and headed for the top level. He knew guilds liked to sit in an area where they could keep an eye on anyone who entered.  
And with that thought in mind, he berated himself silently, knowing the very action of covering his mouth was and act of the upper class. Sure he could have just as easily been someone who just didn't like all the smoke. Though why would you go to a bar then? But, he knew that simple motion may make anyone seedy run for the hills.

It didn't really look like anyone noticed though as far as he could tell, and he finished his assent to the upper level. The next hurdle was looking around and not making it look like you were searching. But sometimes...people just present themselves. He could hear loud hooting and he glanced towards the back of the room.  
He raised a brow.

A Xingese man, probably about his age, was dancing about on a table...naked as a jaybird. He was singing some old folk song Ling had remembered hearing at some point in his life, though where he couldn't say. But it was about the Roc. Last bit of proof he needed that that's who he was looking for. But now he had to approach him.  
Needless to say he wasn't looking forward to it.  
Slowly he made his way over, trying to keep from any direct eye contact with the man.

He was quite obviously drunk. His buddies and other people were laughing at him, while a girl was trying her best to pull him from the table. Swearing at him repeatedly. Finally she seemed to have had enough and swept his feet out from under him, causing him to fall very unceremoniously to the table then to the floor.

"How old are you!? Five!?" She screamed at him, throwing his clothes on top of him. "Put those back on you moron!"

He gave her a rather half-assed pouty look before obliging, much to Ling's relief.  
The crowd slowly dispersed while his buddies were clasping him on the shoulder, teasing him and pointing out 'how small it was.' He got a little hot about it and starting screaming about being cold in there, which Ling realized it kind of was. The massive hole he realized was in the ceiling didn't help but, he supposed it helped the drunk idiots ego a bit.

"Excuse me?" He finally said as he stepped forward. The drunk guy tilted his head at him, instantly suspicious even in spite of his inebriated state.

"Yuh? What you want?"

Ling thought for a moment, knowing he had to speak carefully. He was vastly outnumbered and he wasn't sure if this small group was the only friends the drunk had in the bar. "I need some help...would you be willing to offer me some information?"

The drunks suspicious look didn't drop and his buddies were positioning themselves around Ling.

"I mean you no harm. I'll even pay you. I just have a simple question."

"And why should I trust you? Probably some soldier in disguise or something." He reached behind his back as he spoke, no doubt reaching for a blade.

"Have you known anyone from the Palace to care about what goes on underground. Only matters to them if you attack them directly. Just give me some info, I give you the money, and you never see me again."

The drunk kept his eyes on him, hand settled on the blade on the back of his belt. "Show me the money first."

"In the middle of a bar full of drunks doesn't seem like the best place..."

"Fine. Follow me." The drunk waved his hand as he stumbled his way to the stairs, some of his buddies grabbing him so he didn't tumble and break his fool neck.  
Once they were safely on the ground floor, the drunk lead the way towards the bar, giving the barkeep a nod before heading to the backroom.

Ling was feeling even more vulnerable now than he had amongst the crowd. Yeah, he was worried he'd be jumped for the money but now he was trapped in a room with one way out and three guys blocking the door.

"Well? The money?" The drunk questioned as he flopped down in a chair by a small table.

Slowly Ling pulled the pouch out and slid it across the table to him, careful to keep an eye on the chi of everyone in the room. Looking out for any spike that could mean an attack. So far nothing.

The drunk looked through the pouch, eyes widening a bit. He pulled a coin out and bit into it, making sure it was real. "You sure you ain't at least a noble or something?"

"Yeah right. Like some noble would risk coming to this place in person." _~I am an idiot...~_

"Alright." The drunk said at last. "Ask away. Though you may be getting more answers from this lot if we have em' I'm a bit off my rocker at the moment."

"Clearly." Ling mumbled as he took a seat. "...a friend of mine was...kidnapped. It's a good guess she may have been sold on the Black Market..."

"Rough." The drunk said as he leaned back in his chair. "And I'm guessing you wanna know where the traffic runs from here eh? Well just because I traffic, doesn't mean I traffic people. And what I traffic goes elsewhere I'm sure."

"So you're telling me you don't know?"

"No. I'm saying humans and guns and drugs are different things. They change the route a lot with humans. Palace may not care but the people do. Vigilantes hunt them down all the time."

"Whats a more common path then? Or better yet, is there a pattern when they switch?"

The drunk waved his hand slightly, clearly his mind was beyond fried by this point. It was now that the girl spoke up, leaning back against the wall. She blew a strand of hair out of her face, looking all the more irritated.

"A pattern is the last thing they'd have. If they had to resort to using the same path more than once, they'd have people to cover their tracks. You're not talking amateurs here. And frankly I think you're wasting your time. No one who's thrown on the human market gets found again. Not usually in one piece anyway."

Ling had just about enough at this point. He got up, his chair falling to the floor behind him as he slammed his hands down on the table. "I know you guys don't really have anyone to really give a...SHIT about! But that doesn't mean you have to do everything to make someone already hurting feel worse!"

The three guys at the door started to move forward but the drunk put up his hand to halt them, turning his gaze slightly to regard the girl leaning on the wall behind him. "Don't be a bitch."

"Only speaking the truth."

"Sometimes a lies better." The drunk turned his gaze back to regard Ling again. "How long has your friend been gone?"

"...about a month..."

The girl gave a throaty grunt. "Friends sold pal, or dead."

"Qiao! Enough!" The drunk rubbed at his temples, headache already forming. "Ok man...so your friends a girl eh?"

Ling only nodded.

"Ok. Sex trade then most likely, sorry to say. But the chances of her survival are a bit higher."

"Also not the answer I was looking for...Besides, she's not the...quiet type. She'll bite back."

The drunk frowned a bit. "They're not thrown right on the sale block. They usually keep them at a way station sort of thing. They break them there. And they do break..."

Ling flashed him a confused look.

"...we had a friend taken too..." The girl spoke again. "She was destroyed...she killed herself not long after we found her."

The room just fell silent. The whole of the room just felt permeated with the feeling of defeat and Ling felt like he was probably already too late. But he had to bring her home...regardless of her state.

"...thank you for your help..." He said quietly as he turned for the door.

"Wait." The drunk said as he got to his feet with a bit of effort. "There may still be time for her. If she's as tough as you say she is...it'll take longer to break her. We have time to work out the route."

"We?" Ling asked as he looked over his shoulder. "You guys are...I only asked for information."

"We have a friend to avenge. In a way...we can by helping you." The girl said, far less bite to her tone.

"...you have no idea how much this means to me..."

"Sure we do." The drunk said, giving a bit of a grin. "What we wished we had when we were looking for our friend. Names Li by the way. This here's my sister, Qiao. And we're gonna help you take down those damn assholes."


	2. Chapter 2

Ling slipped back into the palace in the early hours of the morning. He had a few things he had to sort out before leaving to find Lan Fan.  
First thing he did was find someone to keep an eye on things while he was away. The last thing he needed was for one of his siblings to take advantage of his absence and take the palace while he was away.  
Next thing he wanted to do, was talk to his father. He wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to to be honest. He just felt like he needed a few answers, and possibly, get a bit of aid from his father. He knew his father would find no reason to back him up while he was gone, but it was worth a try. His father had always looked down on him for being weak in his eyes. But he was hoping since the old man was on his death bed, he'd be a bit more personable. He hoped anyway.

The sky was only now taking on a light bluish hue as he slipped into his fathers room. That was the first thing he noticed once he had been named as the next Emperor, the guards were lacking outside his fathers chambers. Either they just didn't care to watch the old man anymore, or they knew no one would try to kill a man who had little purpose now. He assumed it was the latter.  
So, needless to say, it was easy to get into his fathers chambers.  
He was more surprised though to find his father was wide awake. He had himself propped up with pillows, looking out the window as the sun slowly made it's assent.

"Father?"

The old man slowly turned his head to regard the voice. The room was quite dark so it was hard to see his expression, but Ling was sure that for a moment, he looked confused as to who was talking to him.  
After a moment though, he simply turned to face the window again. "Didn't think I'd see you again boy." His father stated, not really sounding surprised but not sounding like he really cared either.

"Just had some things to go over with you."

"Oh, do you now?" He asked as he turned to face him again. "And here I thought you were here to rush my demise."

"If you thought I were capable of that, then you wouldn't have thought me weak all these years and given me a better chance at the throne."

"Fair enough. So what do you want then?"

Ling crossed the still vast distance across the room till he reached his fathers bed. He stared at him for a moment before taking a seat on the bed.

"My guard is gone. I thought you were in on it at first but, I'm pretty sure I was wrong there."

"That female of yours huh? You're right, you were wrong. In my state I could care less how you ruin your life." Again he tuned away from Ling, returning his gaze to the outside world. There was a bit more light now, dim as it was, so his fathers features were much more prominent. In only the short time since he had returned to Xing, his father had aged so much. His hair carried not a single streak of black any longer. All of it was a striking white more than gray. His face was etched with wrinkles, and his eyes were dull. If anyone else looked at him they would think the man was blind, but it was just a further sign of his body failing him. It surely wouldn't be long now.

"...why would mother do it? Why did she send her away? I know she and I didn't get along that well either but, was still far better a relationship then with you."

"You never did understand how palace life worked. You always tried to be so much like the people outside the walls. He turned to regard him again, eyes narrowed. We are far different then the rest of the world Ling, I was hoping one day you'd understand that."

"No father. We are the same. The days of traditions and calling ourselves gods hand on Earth are far gone now. The rest of the modern world is either laughing at us or looking on us in disgust. It's time to move on father. If we don't change with the rest of the world, then they'll only swallow us up whole."

"You're too young to understand the significance of tradition."

"And you're too old to understand change. But I'll let it slide, cause that's not what I asked you."

He sighed. "She wants you to be cold you know?"

"...what?" Ling tilted his head a bit, lifting a brow. He was caught a bit off guard.

"Your mother. She knew the path you were heading down. The pain you were racing towards. She tried to stop it, but when you grew more and more stubborn, well...guess she found this to be the best course."

"My life is my..."

"Your life is never your own. Do you think you're the only on to feel this way boy? Do you think you're the only royal brat to fall in love? It's happened before and every time, it's ended in pain and blood. It's even happened to me..."

"What do you mean...?"

His father sighed deeply, as if a great burden were about to be lifted from his chest. His gaze now fell to his desk across the room where a lone picture stood amongst various little trinkets. "That picture there, bring it."

Confused, Ling got up and did as he was asked, making his way across the room to the desk. He laid a hand on the picture and hesitated a moment before picking it up. He ran his eyes over it before making his way back to his father.

"Probably is a bit hard to see in the dark. Flip a light on and look at it more closely."

Again Ling did as he was told, taking a seat on the bed again and flipping the small lamp on. He settled his eyes on the picture again. Two young children were pictured there, maybe about the age of twelve, he couldn't be certain. Royal children tended to not look their age, what with the years of being treated more like an adult than a child, and the constant death threats. He assumed the boy in the picture was his father. Surprisingly, he looked an awful lot like Ling did at that age. Well, a lot of his siblings probably looked similar for all he knew, he didn't see most of them at that age and if he did, they had a blade to his throat.  
The girl though, he had no idea who she was. She seemed to be a bright happy girl, her hair done up in a bun. Her clothes on the other hand were not that of the palace. It was simple commoner dress. Simple brown top with white pants, servant dress now that he looked more at it. He glanced up at his father, his face asking all the questions he couldn't voice.

His father reached a shaky hand up and took the picture from him, staring at it. "This...is your mother."

"...what?"

"That's right. Your mother was a commoner. A servant here. She carried blood from the old line of rulers, in fact...she was the last to carry it. So despite her common blood, she still earned a certain degree of respect, and they allowed her as a concubine later in life. Only problem was...we fell in love."

Ling shifted a bit in his place, both to get a better look at his fathers face to see if he was lying, and because he suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable having this conversation now.

His father only sighed and set the picture down on the other side of him. "That was a long time ago. I was pressured by the council to take other wives from the other houses as well even though I didn't want to. I did eventually to appease them. But doing so changed everything. A man does feel a bit...powerful, having all those women. I won't lie. It changed me, and it changed your mother. I still cared for her more so I made her my Empress, but that was about the extent of it. Didn't take much after you were born to realize you were different. She wanted to keep you from caring so you wouldn't go through the same thing. Being forced by tradition to be someone you didn't want to be, and throw the one you love away. Guess maybe she felt this was a last resort."

"So she sold her to the Black Market? Come on father. If she really cared that was the last thing she'd do to a person."

"Like I said, we both changed. She probably could care less what happens to her. You are her priority."

"My life is mine dammit." He got up, putting his hand to his chest to emphasize his next points. "I am not about to let anyone else dictate my life! I've been hearing this all my life! Do this, don't do that! Don't slouch, you're a prince not commoner garbage! Well from what you say I am part of that 'commoner garbage'! And you know what? I'm proud of it. Maybe that is why I'm different! I have my own ideas of how I'm running things, and of how I run my life! And all this...is going to end. I'm going to get Lan Fan back, and I'll take my place on the throne. And then...no matter how many people hate what I do next, I'll still do it. I'm saving this country from itself."

His father chuckled a bit, which only caused him to go into a massive coughing fit. He put his hand to his mouth and coughed a bit more, spewing blood all over it. "...well...whatever you do...I won't be here to see it. So at least I don't have to live through the hell you cause..."

"...the hell I cause...and the freedom that eventually comes. Dark and light are not in existence without the other...it'll always shift back and forth. But I'm going to let light win for a while at least." He softened his gaze a bit and grabbed a handkerchief from the bed stand and handed it to his father. "For all you know...when you finally find peace again, might become more your old self. You might even be proud of me."

"Only time can tell Ling. In the meantime, how are you going to do it? The second you're gone the jackals will move in."

"Got that covered already. And to keep my mother out of things, I'm hiding my departure behind going on an excursion to look over the rest of my country."

"Your country? Still mine till I kick it."

"May as well already say you have."

"You pride yourself in not being like the others but you sound like them sometimes."

"Have to wear a mask to survive."

His father only nodded slightly and used the handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face and hand. He looked much paler than only moments before and Ling couldn't help but think he wouldn't last the day even. But even in that, Ling could see a sort of peace cross his face, his eyes even softened a bit as he looked at his son.

"...maybe you can do what I couldn't...I'll have my personal guard help while your away as well. No one will steal the throne from you. But how will you find her?"

"...using some underground sources..." He said as he diverted his gaze a bit.

"Heh. Dance with the demons if that what it takes to get to the devil. Age old tactic. Your best chance is to head to the far North. They have a huge base up that way where they ready 'products' for sale."

"Figured you'd know that..."

His father ignored his comment and kept on. "You should get a hold of Mei before heading up there. She might be able to help you."

"I don't think she still likes Lan Fan all that much..."

"I'm sure things are a bit different now. Besides, you're going to need more at your disposal than just what you have. She may have connections up there, even if she is just a child. Get a hold of her."

"If that's what it takes...then I will. Might have to call in a few more favors as well..."

"Do what you need to. I'll try to keep your mother busy as long as my body holds out. I doubt she'll believe your story, so you best get yourself ready. When are you heading out?"

"This evening. It'd be sooner but, we all need time to get ourselves ready. Not gonna be easy to just walk in and out."

His father nodded slowly and turned back to the window. The sun had finally made it's appearance and the land was being washed with it's glow. "Get going then."

Ling only nodded and. Without another word, made his way out of his fathers room. The palace was starting to come to life and servants were already crawling about everywhere doing their morning tasks. He could see a group of guards moving towards him and knew full well what was coming next. The questions would come pouring out along with all the false concern for his safety. This was the first time in his life he would actually admit he missed Fu's response of charging up and cuffing him over the head. Days long gone that would never again return. So instead he let them go on and on as he made his way back to his room. There was no use in making any sort of a defense for himself. He had far more important things to concern himself with.

And that concern sat miles and miles away in a lonely cell. Lan Fan was again curled up in a tight ball, face buried between her knees. Her 'breaking in' sessions had recently begun. She tried her best to stay as stubborn as she was known to be but, even she could already feel her facade cracking. There were others that had gone through that same thing with her that day. All got far less than her for obvious reasons. She tried to stay strong, unmoving in any way. And that action just caused the beatings to be more massive. She had at first thought they'd be more cautious with her. She knew full well what future was meant for her so ruining the merchandise was not an option. But as time went on she knew they would not be gentle in any way. She was a trained killer, they could not afford to be gentle. They had to completely break her. And to do so would include a massive amount of time doing so. And since they had to take all that time, there would still be time for her to heal up before her inevitable sale.

Her beatings were far worse compared to the others around her, but they were also getting more permanent injuries compared to her. And more abusive tortures. She could see many around her having their nails ripped off with pliers, some of the males had even been castrated in plain sight. Apparently people still called for Eunuch's in this world, which was surprising because even the palace didn't use them much any more. But through all of this, she could still see people giving her approving looks out of the corners of her eyes. They saw her bravery and commended her for it.  
...if they could only see her now, curled up in a dirty ball of blood and various mess from the cell, crying softly to herself.

When she became a guard, she knew full well the types of consequences she would have to face, the various fates that might and probably would befall her. But she never once thought of anything like this. And none of this might have even been possible if she hadn't been considered a threat. It didn't take long to figure out her reasons for being here. Someone in the palace, likely the Emperor or Empress...or both, had clearly seen the very thing she was trying to hide and subsequently decided to get rid of her. And this was the worst possible way to do so, the greatest punishment for not knowing ones place. Her Grandfather had even warned her against it, though she adamantly denied such a thing. Foolish really, she knew her Grandfather of all people could see right through her. Perhaps she really should have done a better job of hiding it.

She pulled her head up a bit and rubbed her eyes. Her faith was slowly ebbing away as she was starting to wonder if Ling would find her. If his parents had done it, there's no way they'd send her where Ling would be able to find her, or at least where he'd be able to find her in time.  
She turned a bit and slammed her fist into the wall. On impact she could feel a few of the bones shattering a bit and a loud crack emanated through the cell. She only allowed herself a minor squeak in response as she pulled her hand back and cradled it under one of her legs.

_~...yeah, there you go...start damaging yourself now...~_ She muttered to herself. She grunted a bit, both frustrated at her situation and at herself. She knew regardless of the situation, Ling was going to do everything he could to find her. So for now, she was going to have to hold out as long as she could. She would force herself to keep fighting on to buy him and herself, some time. So she was going to have to suck it up and for all intensive purposes, be a major bitch.

"Hey! Hey, anyone out there!?"

The response she got was a kick to the cell door and a gruff, 'shut the fuck up!' But she didn't give up.

"Hey! When do you plan on giving me my water huh? I haven't had any yet today!"

"Shut up! After your little stunt today you think we're giving you any?"

"Well I assume you need me in relatively good condition don't you? And you're going to deny me substinense? How is that productive to you lot!?"

"I said shut up!"

"Do you want me to start drinking my own pee here!? I'm sure that will go over really well for my health!" ..._~Did I seriously just say that...?~_ She thought to herself.

She could hear another voice on the other side of the door, so there was another guard. Probably a good idea considering their prisoner, and neither of them sounded like that Niu guy so she supposed she should be grateful for that.

"Fine! I'll give you your damn water if you shut up!"

"Thank you!" She grinned to herself. She knew she was going to pay massively for her attitude but she needed to keep it up. Plus she couldn't deny she was having a bit of fun at her tormentors expense.

The door flew open with a bang as it slammed into the back wall. As she assumed the man looked far from amused. He stood there glaring at her a moment, well, with what glaring he could manage with one eye. He had a patch over his left eye and a massive burn mark on that side of his face, which pretty much gave relevance to her assumption that his eye was indeed gone. He was covered from head to toe in all black otherwise, and wisely wore no weapons. But she had no doubt he was dangerous. She'd already proven earlier she was dangerous even with restraints, so there was no way they'd take risks now.

After a bit of a stare down session, he set the bucket he was holding down and slid it across the floor with his foot, not daring to move any closer. She had to catch it with her feet to prevent it from toppling over and spilling it. Yes she had done this to annoy him, but that in no way meant she wasn't extremely thirsty.

There's your damn water, now shut up! He turned around and headed back out, slamming the door behind him. She could hear him cussing to his other buddy and couldn't help but giggle when he said she was as bad as his wife.  
She was probably quite insane to be taking this course of action but, after years of guarding a prince that had a tendency not to listen to anyone...anyone would go a bit mad.

She used her feet to pull the bucket closer and, with a hiss of pain, grabbed it with her hand and pulled the metal bucket up to take huge gulps from. She stopped just before swallowing at one point and took in what she was holding. Maybe the guy wasn't so smart after all. A metal bucket? Really?

She set it down at her side and looked it over, turning it around a bit and inspecting every inch of it. It was pretty dented up but otherwise intact. She might have been able to do more with it if she had possession of both arms but, that wasn't an option. But she did catch one break. The metal handle was still on the bucket and after yeas of use, it was weak at it's connection points.  
She looked up at the door for a moment before faking a coughing fit, moving the bucket back between her feet to hold, while using her hand to yank at the handle till it finally snapped off. She was quick to hide it behind her back before the guard looked in through the barred window.

"Whats wrong with you now?"

"Take it easy, just drank too fast is all."

"Tch. Don't drown yourself you dumb woman."

"...show you dumb once I'm out of here." She mumbled to herself.

As he turned away again, she reached behind her and found the bit of metal again. She glanced around the cell and tried to find somewhere in her reach to hide it till she found the right moment to use it. She did manage to find a bit of crumbled block just in her reach at the bottom of the wall and carefully worked it loose, slipping the metal inside. She quickly replaced the block and went back to drinking more water. She needed to bide her time. She still had no clue to the layout of this place so any escape attempt now would be futile. She knew there had to be clues laying about and the next time they took her from her cell, she would take in everything she saw. She had no idea how long it would take Ling, so she had to have this backup plan in mind. Because if he took too long, she would have to act before they moved her. But she just hoped he'd make it in time. Then she'd smack him for being reckless and hug him for coming for her.

Once the sun lowered below the horizon and the world began to be quenched in shadow, Ling slipped out of the palace. It was a huge gamble, leaving like this. He could only hope his men and his fathers could keep things in control till he returned. That's really all he could do on that end.  
In the meantime, he had plotted out his route along the information his father had given and sent a message ahead to Mei, asking her to meet him in a village twenty miles South of their apparent destination. He would have chosen closer but their destination was well out of her families range, and he wanted to meet up with her where they could both feel comfortable and a bit safer. Assuming she would show up anyway. Promising to take her family under his wing with the other families in no way meant she had to bend to his every beck and call. But he hoped she would, he needed that extra pull.

He met up with his little group outside The Roc bar and they headed straight out without saying a word. It was better not to talk about anything till they were well outside of the city limits.  
But once they were a safe distance away, they stopped to go over what information Ling had managed to get.

"And you came up with this how?" Li asked, quirking a brow. The man was a bit temperamental as he still had a hangover from the previous nights events. So any thing that seemed off was ringing danger bells for him more now then they would have the previous night.

"I managed to find you guys didn't I? Not hard to think I'm pretty good at finding people to dig information out of is it?"

"Is it trustworthy though?" Qiao asked. She in no way had changed and was still considerably weary around Ling. Woman s intuition he assumed. He'd have to be careful around her if he wanted to keep his secret hidden. Or maybe...could she be a chi reader?  
Ling looked at her a moment, trying to make it look like he was assessing her trustworthiness as much as she was assessing his. Which wasn't entirely a lie, he was assessing, just assessing if his hand was already blown. But after reading the dragons path a bit, he found no reason to believe she was a chi reader, unless she was good at hiding it. So instead he dropped it.

"You tell me." He said at last. "You would know your own kind best wouldn't you?"

"Do not lump us in with their kind! We use people for gain yes, but not at the expense of their lives!" Qiao bit back.

It was now that Ling realized, this woman was made more terrifying by the lack of light. He really didn't like her at all to be honest and only now realized he hadn't really taken the time to look at her much when he was talking to her the night before. She was one of those pretty but tough looking girls. The kind who could flash you a smile one moment and break you in half the next. And he could tell she was very well capable of that. She had muscle to her, not scary muscle, but muscle enough. And when she was angry he swore her eyes glowed more in the dimmed light. Avoid the snapping dragon side, yup, surely noted.

"...right. I won't then. Just don't eat me..." He hesitantly quipped.

"Enough Qiao. He's no one to suspect I guess. He just wants his friend back and if he's digging so far into the underworld, he has to be desperate...and a damn fool. So moving on then, why are we stopping twenty miles before?"

"My little sister lives up that way. Her family would know more about the area than me, and I need to talk to her...if she shows up anyway..."

"Your sister lives that far away from you?" The suspicion was still in Qiao's voice, along with a growl that just screamed death forthcoming.

"Yes. You have heard of families splitting up haven't you? Not at all that uncommon. It was just...that bad of a split that they needed that much space between us."

He waited quietly for a moment to see if she'd buy the lie. She only huffed and turned away. About the best yes he was going to get.

"Right. So we stop at...Suching then right?" Li asked.

"Right. But we have to be there by the end of the week. That's the allotted time I put down."

"You a slave driver or something?" Qiao growled.

Ling flinched at that a bit. He in no way wanted to be associated with such a word even if it may have just been a simple smack at his ego. "No. I just want to find her before it's too late for her. You would have done the same for your friend if you would have gotten the chance wouldn't you have?"

"Don't you dare even speak of her you squinty eyed bastard!"

"That's calling the kettle black isn't it!?"

"Least I can open my eyes!"

"Alright enough! For gods sake for someone who wants to get moving you waste enough time. So how bought for the extent of this journey, you two keep the hell away from each other hm?" Li literally had to get between the two as he was actually quite in fear for Ling's safety. He was sure she could break the beanpole in half pretty easily. If he only knew.

Ling only backed up and started packing his stuff away. "Yeah, you're right. We need to get going. I caused her enough trouble in this life, not gonna cause her this sort of grief."

Li gave him a confused look and was about to ask him how exactly this was his fault, but Ling had already thrown his pack back over his shoulder and was moving away from them.

"...you sure about this bro? What if we're biting off more than we can chew here?"

"No one else deserves this fate. We can work at getting her back, and take the whole damn place down in one massive swoop. We have to try."

She nodded in agreement at last as she followed Ling and her brother's little band off into the unknown.


	3. Chapter 3

The door burst open, interrupting the almost former Emperor from his; for once, restful sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and diverted them over to the door ;where the Empress was now slamming it shut. It took no stretch of the mind to know exactly what she was on about.  
She moved across the room with quite obvious angry distress, and sat down at the chair at his desk. For the most part she just went on mumbling and complaining to herself like she had forgotten this was his room, and that he wasn't there which he quite obviously was.

"...Chunhua. He finally addressed the Empress."

She turned her head quickly towards him, the angry fires practically jumping from her eyes. "He's wandered off again!"

"And who would that be pray tell?"

"Don't play smug with me! How can you not know who!?"

He let out an irritated sigh. He remembered the days when she would just quietly address him, not scream at the top of her lungs. God how he missed those days. Despite the reputation he gained, he was never forceful with the women whose company he had to keep, and he never threatened them or raised his voice at them. But out of tradition for their position, they tended to stay docile around him, as per how things in the court went. So he wasn't used to this bombardment she constantly gave now that he was bed ridden.

"I know very well who you're talking about yes. You don't have to scream and please would you not? I'm a bit sensitive now if you haven't noticed. And you know damn well he is a responsible man under all that, he's just doing what he feels he needs to."

"You can't possibly think I buy that whole act of his about...taking in the people of his future rule?"

Again he sighed. "No of course not. And I knew you wouldn't. But there's something that, despite what we feel, we have to accept."

"And what's that?"

"I'm old and dying, he's never listened to you in the first place...and he's not us. At least...he's not who we are now. There was a time you would have praised this action in him."

"That was long ago."

"Yes, it was." He said as he forced himself up to a sitting position. This small action was getting harder and harder to do with each day, and his arms could barely hold his weight anymore. Chunhua almost got up to help him but stilled herself. "I remember when that boy was born. Of everything you had, of everything I gave you; the gold, the beautiful clothing...he was what you treasured most. The look you gave him that day...was a look I hadn't seen in years and haven't seen since. You and I both changed...and tradition made us make him do the same. But he was stronger than us. He said no."

"...I don't want him to feel that pain...that...feeling of betrayal." Her eyes grew hard as she looked at him. She did as she was told she had to over all these years. Treat him as a superior. Even in friendly banter she had to show a certain level of respect, all the women did. But there was one thing despite all that that still hurt her, and he knew exactly what that was. "...you told me you loved me...only me. And then...you took all those women in anyway..."

"You knew the reasons. There was no way to get around it then, unlike the possibility that exists now. And you had no right to send that girl away regardless. I have never in my life pulled rank on you so to speak...but while I still breathe, who goes and who stays is my decision. That boy...can do what we were too weak to. And neither of us have the right to stand in his way. Not anymore. Yes, he's going to get her, like I'm sure you knew he would. But he wouldn't have to if you hadn't sent her away. You put him in more danger than he initially would have been..."

She got up now, the fire in her eyes growing to what one would see as massive walls of flames. "You're trying to blame this on me!? This is not my fault!"

Instead of shouting back at her, he shifted himself and flung his legs over the side of the bed, making an effort to get up.

"...what are you doing? Don't strain yourself."

He only shrugged her off and, with great effort, pushed himself to his feet. He barely made any ground though as his legs gave out and he had to grab one of the bed banisters to hold himself up. Chunhua rushed over to aid him, regardless of her anger. She took hold of one of his arms and did her best to hold him up.  
He, for the first time in ages, flashed a smile at her.

"...there you are. I haven't seen this side of you since we were young..."

"...Shaoqing..."

"Please...help me over to the mirror...I need to show you something..."

"But..."

"Please?"

Hesitantly, she did so, helping him across a rather considerate distance to a corner of the room. He stood with her in front of the mirror, putting one arm up to prop himself on a table next to it.

"Now...look. Look closely in the mirror..."

Confused, she did as he said, taking in both their appearances. He was only a year older than her, but his illness had caused him to age drastically. He hardly looked anything of his former self and even less like a human come to think of it. He was a pained soul trapped in a failing body.  
She on the other hand, though middle aged, looked much better off. She hardly even showed any of her age between the various creams and makeup used to cover her features, and the dye used to keep her hair that Xingese raven black. She wore an elegant red silken robe with beautiful features stitched in with bright golden silken threads. Jade earrings dangled from her earlobes and her hair was put up high in an empresses crown. She looked every bit the part of a royal woman.

"...what am I looking for?" She asked at last.

Shaoqing slowly pulled away from her, making his way slowly and agonizingly over to the bed again. She made to follow him but he stilled her with an upraised hand. He grabbed the picture he had showed Ling earlier and made his way back over, stumbling the whole way. By the time he reached her again he was breathing heavily and had to lean hard on the table by the mirror.

"Shaoqing..." She took hold of his arm again, afraid he may collapse to the floor. "Let me get a servant, you have to get back in bed..."

"Not yet...I'm not done yet...look at this." He handed her the picture and let her take it in for a moment. "Now...look back in the mirror..."

"..." Still confused, she did what she was told again, looking over her features again.

"Now...I want you to tell me something...after looking at the picture...and our reflections...tell me who the hell they are...because all I see now are strangers..."

She nearly dropped the picture when she took in what he was saying. There wasn't one bit of them that were those children of long ago. They had both grown cold, cold and callous and for the most part, uncaring. Even she, who had for so long did everything she could to not forget where she came from. Yet here she stood, covered from head to toe in finery and paints to deceive people. There wasn't one part of her that resembled that little girl anymore. Not one part of her that even remembered what it was like to live that life before this. The person in the mirror...both people, were a lie.

"And this...my love...is what we're trying to turn Ling into..."

"...my god..."

"...he's going after the woman he loves...we need to let him...and we need to protect his position till he returns...I want him to have what we denied ourselves..."

She turned to look at him, eyes glossy with un-shed tears. "I didn't mean...to hurt him..."

"I know. I told him that. At least we...realized it before it was too late. I made up with him before he left...promised to keep his role safe. But I can't do anything else for him. I'll be gone before he returns...but you have time. Show him what it's really like to have a parents love...he'll need that for his own future."

"..." She set the picture down on the table he still leaned on, observing it again for a moment before giving him a careful embrace. "...we still need to catch up...before the gods take you from me as well..."

He smiled again, this time warm and soft, like the smile from his younger days. "That we do, and we shall."

At last she smiled too, allowing the tears to fall. She then escorted him back to his bed, foregoing any servant's help. The rest of this day need only involve them.

The grating sounds of the um-oiled hinges of the door woke Lan Fan from what slumber she had managed. She looked up to see one of the guards from earlier stepping into the cell, chains in hand. Looks like it was that time again. She was partially enjoying this little game she had started with them. Partially, because she didn't care much for, you know, the whole torture aspect that came with it. But giving them all a day of living hell made up for some of it anyway.

These guards were at least grateful because she tended to stay quiet till she was taken to the 'Breaking Chambers'. They didn't have to stay to babysit her and so weren't subject to her wiles. They also, in turn, hated the men that were handed the job of 'breaking' her. So her little ploys she liked to hit them with amused them greatly and caused them to treat her just a bit more nicely than they had before. So in turn, she afforded them a little less hell, mostly because she saw this as another possible weapon she could use later. It was possible to, over time, gain some sympathy from these two men, they could aid in her escape if need be. So it was best to keep up her light hearted relationship with the two.

So she didn't struggle as he un-cuffed her from the wall and put her in these new restraints. She was cuffed at each limb, including her neck, to limit movement as much as possible. After all she need only a small bit of freedom to become deadly dangerous.  
She was then lead out of the cell and down the hall by the same guard while the other locked up the cell, joining them after. They walked in complete silence for a while before Lan Fan struck up a conversation about the weather. This had been another one of their easy exchanges as it became an inside joke, since she quite obviously could not see what the weather was.  
On some occasions they actually would tell her what it was like. At first it had been done as another form of torture for her, but lately it had just become something they just wanted to inform her. Almost like a way of saying the world was still turning, she wasn't dead yet. She came to appreciate that over time.

But now, the only two she allowed herself to associate with, were leaving her in a medium sized room with her tormentors. Both only quickly made their way out of the room, like looking back would cause them to second guess themselves.  
So now, she turned to regard the two other men that she was forced to see on a daily basis. One was a younger man, maybe no older than her, dressed in rather ragged clothing. Considering the task they were employed to do, she could see why. His other features for the most part had been hard to see the first few times she came to this room. But since they had added a little more lighting, she could see it better. Was nothing to be really excited about anyway, if that was the proper term for it. He had a rather generic Xingese face, typical black eyes, short cropped hair. Nothing special really.

The other man though, he was a piece of work and rather frightening to her really. He was a larger man...larger in weight. Like one of those guards one would explain was in some torture chamber deep in the bowls of castles in stories of old. She never thought they really existed. But, they apparently did, and they were about as scary as the stories liked to say. This one especially. He was bald...again typical of the stories, he wore the same ragged clothes as his counterpart, only he had the sleeves torn off at the shoulder. He had leather guards on his wrists that showed various signs of wear and tear, along with many suspicious looking gouges...like teeth marks. His face though, was the one thing she always tried to avoid looking at. He had a thin mustache and a beard that tapered to a point at about the start of his massive belly. But that wasn't what she was avoiding, it was that mouth. Nearly every tooth in his mouth was gone and as far as she had seen, and for obvious reasons, he had to drink his food. So various types of foods had to be ground up for him...including what seemed to be a favorite of his. Pig.

And he seemed to have every part of the creature ground up which emitted a rather stomach churning smell when it was all ground together. And she knew this because they liked to have their meals in front of her. Another form of torture.

And she also had to remember that these guys would sit down and eat...with their victim bleeding in the room mere feet from them. These two were not human beings by any stretch of the word. In fact, she couldn't come up with any existing word to describe the vileness of these two. And she was trapped with them for god knows how long. They had a tendency to vary how long they 'worked her in' every day. It was their own little game they played to even out the one she played on them every day.

The bigger one moved towards her now, yanking on the restraints at her neck and dragging her over to a flat board. She knew this one all too well because up till her early teen years, it was still used in the bowls of the Palace. The water board. It looked less dangerous than it was and most people would scoff at it's description. But that's only because they never saw it in action. It was a long drawn out torture that made a person go mad, she knew this personally, as she had been forced to watch on a few occasions.

She cringed as her restraints were un-done and she was tossed down and restrained on the table instead. There wasn't much to this torture really and it was easy to go through each movement in her mind before he did them. Sometimes it was far more terrible knowing what was coming than what wasn't. What she wasn't sure of was why they picked this torture first. It was the least hands on. Her best guess was there would be more than her in the room today. And she was proven right moments later as the door flew open and a guard dragged a struggling boy in. He couldn't have been more than ten but he was giving the guard hell.  
For a moment she forgot her own hell and the water slowly dripping on her head as she realized she recognized the boy. He was from one of the royal houses, though which one she couldn't recall. She watched as they grabbed him and strapped him onto a table on the other side of the room while the guard made a hasty exit.

The younger of the two turned a wheel, bringing the table to a standing position. The boy still struggled, throwing silent curses at the two. It was only now that Lan Fan took into account the dry blood at his chin and the literal empty threats coming from him. His tongue had been cut out.

"...he's just a child! What the hell did you do to him!?"

"Quiet you! We got no orders that says we can't do that to you too! And we're liable to if you don't shut your trap!" The larger man gruffly yelled. That, of course, didn't deter her.

"What can a child do to you!? You take a child's insults that seriously that you have to tear his tongue out!? Are you that incapable of handling criticism!?"

"I said shut it woman!"

"Make me! Come on! I know you've been looking for a reason to smack me up good! Man your size can't possibly give a damn about threats from your boss! So come on! Shut me up! Just leave the boy alone!"

"I said shut it!" He crossed the room at a rather quick pace considering his size and raised his hand, bringing it down but stopping just before her face.

"...just like I thought...no balls to speak of. Just as much a pawn to your boss as anyone here."

"Oi! Leave her be. We gotta work the kid in. Besides, you know damn well what'll happen if you lay more a hand on her than you're allowed. You'll never see the light of day again. Now get back over here."

The larger man eyed her up a minute longer, hand still held where it stopped just before her cheek, before he turned and made his way back to the younger man. "And you watch your mouth too boy. I'm your senior, don't be telling me what to do."

"Yeah well, I'm gonna get it too if you fuck things up, so I have a stake in this too."

The larger man only grunted as he walked over to a wheel cart and grabbed a pair of very rusty looking pliers. It was now that Lan Fan was sadly glad the boy couldn't make a sound, but she could see him squirm through the pain. And she could see little flecks of off white as the boys finger nails were torn from his fingers, falling to the floor.  
She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, feeling bile rising in her throat. At this rate she'd throw up and choke on her own vomit before the drops of water made her lose her mind.

Wasn't long though before the door opened again and a different guard came in. He said a few stern words to the two men before removing the boys restraints and taking him out. It became pretty obvious that the boy was not supposed to be scheduled for that sort of torture, as the guard made a rather threatening comment as he left. Lan Fan was relieved for the boy, for now anyway. God only knew why he was plucked from the hell he was in. And now, all attention was back on her.

The larger man removed her from the water board, to her relief. Her head was starting to feel the effects, both mentally and physically. But this only meant the more painful tortures awaited her. And the grin on their faces...wasn't giving her much hope for her future.

Ling and the others had been traveling most the day and made little attempts to stop for a rest, much to the others discontent. They understood his rush, but still felt like they'd signed on with a madman.

"Seriously Ling, we need to stop." Li finally spoke up. "You're gonna run us all into the ground and what good would that be for your friend?"

Ling turned his head slightly, making an attempt to look over his shoulder, but it was a half assed attempt and he didn't slow up one bit. Not right away anyway. But eventually he did stop, staring up at the sky. They had grown dark and threatening and at any moment he knew they would let loose with torrents of rain. What a time to have this happen, during the monsoon season. He could not afford to be slowed up in any way but there would be no way to travel with the floods that would soon follow.

"...alright. There's a village up ahead. We should stop there and rest a bit. Not going to be able to travel in this rain anyway."

"First logical thing you said this whole time." Qiao bit back.

Ling turned quickly and started to stalk towards her, which managed to actually elicit a look of surprise from her. But Li, again, was able to get between the two.

"We're all tired and a little bit stressed. I know you more so. So we're all liable to hot heads and words that come out before thinking. But we can't afford to let it slow us up right? This rains gonna put us off enough, don't make it worse with squabbling."

"Keep your sister on a leash then." He said it to Li but glared at Qiao the whole time. He knew he wasn't being himself but how could he be? He knew he was on limited time and every second was a second too long. Though he had to agree with Li, he wasn't helping any by fighting with her. So he backed down and turned again, making his way towards the village.

Li turned on his sister though while the others moved on ahead, following Ling. He was having about enough of her as Ling was. "Look, I know you don't like the guy, you don't have to. But your little issues need to end now. I don't want to lose these guys, they're all gonna pay for what they did. Now this guy, as shady as it may seem, knows more then we do right now and we need him. So just shut up, swallow your pride, and follow his damn lead. Cause I swear to god, if you keep this up, I'll leave you in the next damn village. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good. Now get moving, and no more bullshit."

She made no more protests and followed behind quietly.

They all made it to the village just as the rains fell from the sky. There hadn't been much of a lead in, just a flash of lightening, a loud thunder crack, and then the heavens just let loose. So despite being mere feet from the Inn Ling had tracked down, they were already drenched as they entered.

He knew this whole trip he was risking questions he couldn't answer, and right now he was risking it even more as he paid for all their rooms. He knew regardless of what they said, they were suspicious of him, but they needed a roof over their heads in this kind of rain. So he risked it and bought the rooms. He just made sure to be off to his own before any of them had the time to ask him.

But hours later, he heard the dreaded knock anyway. He scowled and made his way over to answer it. Well, at least it was Li, he might get away with things a bit here. He let him in and, after being sure none of his other party followed him, he shut the door. He flopped back down on the bed as Li took a seat in a chair in the corner.

"So...checked up on the weather reports a bit."

"And?"

"Northern mountains are already flooded bad. And the path to where your sisters meeting us is blocked off by a landslide. We have to find a path around...gonna loose a few days..."

"Dammit!" Ling shifted and punched the mattress in frustration. "Why can't I catch a break here!?"

"Calm down Ling. If we're right and the place is that far to the North, they ain't any better off then. They ain't gonna be able to move anyone till this monsoon lets up, and that ain't anytime soon. If anything this turned out to be a good thing. We'll be able to get moving long before them and we have more time to plan. Being patient is our only issue. Can you manage to sit still that long?"

"What do you think?"

Li leaned forward in the chair, looking him dead in the eyes. "Ling, if you go rushing into this, you could get one or both of you killed. Maybe even all of this. I get your feelings, I do. But it ain't gonna help any."

"How do you know how I feel? How can you even begin to know how I feel? I..."

"You love her, I get it. I loved Song too."

"Song? Oh...your...?"

"Yeah, our friend." He shifted, leaning back in the chair again. "It's hard, trying to not think about the things they could be going through. Even harder to watch them if they manage to return. We all watched her deteriorate slowly day by day...but I saw it more. I was with her more. And even though she trusted us...me...there was still nothing I could do. How do you comfort someone when you can't even touch them? Without...without them flinching away like some abused animal? When...words are just...just aren't enough? I watched her waste away. I watched her die...I couldn't get to her in time to stop her...I...so I do get what you're going through. I just hope, you never have to go through what I had to. Some times things that get broken...can't be fixed...and that's the most tragic thing of all. Especially when it's someone else that caused it all..."

"...I'm sorry Li..."

Li only shook his head, standing up. "She's at peace now...nothing more to really do about it...but find the asshole that did it...and make him pay slowly."

"What do I do if...if...it ends up coming to that..."

"...everyone acts differently to things like this...you know her best...you do everything and anything you can...don't you dare let her go...don't you dare let her shatter...some people can be brought back from the brink...but not if you don't try..."

Li said nothing more as he left the room. Ling on the other hand had a mind that was racing out of control. He hadn't even taken the time to think of all the other what if's. The other possibilities they might have to face. Even someone as strong as Lan Fan could break, he'd already seen it happen before. It took her forever to get back to herself after Fu passed. What would this do to her?  
Growling, he got up and walked over to the window, staring out. He leaned his arm on the frame and settled his head on it, watching as the rain ran down the window. Watched as it pooled outside, like the entirety of the sky was doing what he couldn't allow himself to. He felt that if he broke now he would lose his center, his focus, and he couldn't afford that. Or maybe he was just being stupid thinking that, and most likely he was. But he didn't want to risk anything right now. So, all he could do now, is hope the rain would stop soon and long enough to get to Mei.


End file.
